Front end loader



J1me 4 G. R. DEMPSTER ETAL 3,138,275

FRONT END LOADER Filed April 27, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 1 I R I Ina EmI Y M R ATTORNEYS J1me 1964 G. R. DEMPSTER ETAL 3,138,275

FRONT END LOADER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 27, 19. .9

INVENTORS 650,765 r?- OEMRS'IER,

ATTORNEYS J 1964 G. R. DEMPSTER ETAL 3,133,275

FRONT END LOADER Filed April 27. 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR5 @756ATTORNEYS WW-I ga United States Patent 3,133,275 FRQNT END LQADER GeorgeR. Deinpster, Dempster Brothers, lno, R0. hex 3127, Knoxville 1?, Tenn,and William A. idlerpich, Knoxviile, Tenn; said Herpich assignor toDempster Brothers, inn, Knoxviile, Tenn, a corporation of TennesseeFiled Apr. 27,1959, Ser. No. 808,974 4 iClaims. (Qt. 214-3tt2) Thisinvention relates to improvements in front end loaders of the characterused for picking up containers at the front of a motor vehicle anddumping the contents therefrom into the body of the vehicle.

It has been proposed heretofore that dumping equipbe mounted on a motorvehicle having a refuse body with a device mounted on the front portionof the vehicle adapted for engagement selectively with containers whichmay be approached at the front of the vehicle for picking up a containerautomatically and lifting the container over the front portion of thevehicle and for dumping the contents into the body.

Such containers are frequently provided with double lids, with each lidhinged to the body of the container along an axis extending lengthwiseof the container at the upper edge of the front or back wall thereof andwith each lid covering approximately one-half of the top of thecontainer. It has been customary heretofore to hinge such double lids tothe body of the container, but without any means to restrain the lidsfrom swinging freely on the respective hinges.

ii ese lids are usually opened to deposit refuse into the container andvery often they are left open. When a hoisting unit or front end loaderis moved into engagement with the container for picking it up fordumping, if the lid on the back wall of the container is open, it haseen subject to striking the top of the cab during the lifting anddumping operation, which is objectionable both from the standpoint ofthe vehicle and because of injury to the container.

Attempts have been made to correct this difliculty by putting chains orstops on the lid toward the vehicle,

to limit the opening movement thereof to a position where it issubstantially vertical. Where the limit means thus provided for the lidis non-extensible and prevents yielding, the lid very often tends todrag the materials back out of the hopper of the body after dumping andduring the restoring action of the container.

One object of this invention is to obviate these objections and toimprove the construction of containers for use with front end loaders.

Another object is to provide for limiting the open movement of the lidthat is toward the front end loader mechanism, so as normally to holdthe lid in an upright position and yet will yield sufficiently so as toprevent the dragging of material out of the hopper of the vehicle body.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a yieldable supportfor a container lid, particularly applicable to the lid toward the frontend loader mechanism, to

restrain the opening movement of the lid substantially to i a verticalposition and yet to yield for extreme movement, especially while thecontainer is turned over in dumping position.

One embodiment of the invention maybe provided which is applicable to acontainer with double lids wherein one of the lids is hinged on the edgeportion of the container toward the front end loader mechanism. Thehinge means is provided with a spring abutment which will limit theopening movement of the lid at said side of the container, and yet willyield sufficiently so as to permit deflection of the lid by the materialdumped into ree the body, and yet will not to drag this material out ofthe hopper after dumping.

This embodiment preferably includes a torsion spring assembly which maybe mounted on the hinge lid that supports the lid and has an upstandingarm in such normal position as to limit the opening movement of the lidsubstantially to a vertical position. This arm forms a yieldableabutment for the lid in open position. While it will restrain suchopening movement, so as to prevent the lid from striking the cab of thetruck during the dumping operation, it will nevertheless yield underextreme pressure and thereby permit deflection of the lid by theaccumulated material in the body, so as not to drag the materials out ofthe hopper of the body as the container is withdrawn following thedumping operation.

This embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the front end loading mechanism, includingthe container to which the invention is applied and showing thecontainer in its normal position on the ground ready for pick-upoperation;

FIG. 2 is a similar view, with the container in raised position justprior to dumping;

FIG. 3 is a similar view, showing the container in full dumpingposition;

FIG. 4 is a similar view after dumping and in the course of withdrawingof the container from the body;

FIG. 5 is a detail end elevation of the container;

PEG. 6 is a top plan view thereof; and

FIG. 7 is a partial side elevation of the container.

The invention is shown as applied to front end loader mechanism of thecharacter set forth in our prior patent applications, Serial No.662,252, filed May 28, 1957, now Patent No. 2,900,096, and Serial No.720,441, filed March 10, 1958, now Patent No. 3,049,254.

The front end loader mechanism is usually applied to a standard type ofmotor vehicle, such as a truck with a conventional vehicle chassis,self-propelled and under control of the operator, who is usually locatedwithin a cab, generally indicated by the numeral 1. Mounted on thechassis is a refuse body 2, such, for example, as a compaction-typebody, and having a hopper 3 in the top near the front thereof throughwhich refuse is discharged into the body. A suitable compaction head isshown at 4 in FIGS. 2 and 4, as representative of the type of packermeans frequently employed for compressing such refuse as garbage, trashor the like within the body 2.

The front end loader mechanism includes suitable means mounted on thevehicle chassis for picking up and dumping a container. We prefer toemploy a pair of lifting arms, generally indicated at 5, spaced aparttransversely of the vehicle chassis and power operated for raising andlowering movements to the several positions illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4.The pair of lifiting arms are provided with a torque tube 6 on the freeends thereof on which are mounted fork arms 7 capable of swingingmovement about the axis of the torque tube 6 to the several positionsalso shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. The torque tube 6 is rotated for swingingthe arms 7, but suitable power devices, such as hydraulic cylinders,generally indicated at 8, are mounted on the lifting arms 5.

The foregoing front end loader mechanism is illustrated and describedmore in detail in our aforesaid patent applications, Serial No. 662,252and Serial No. 720,441.

A container is illustrated generally at 9, adapted for use with thefront end loader mechanism. While any suitable form and type ofcontainer may be employed as found desirable, we have illustrated as anexample thereof a container which is provided with a body portion formedby front and rear walls 10 and 11 and opposite end walls 12 and having aclosed bottom 13. Such container is shown as having lifting attachmentson the opposite end walls 12, as, for example, channels illustrated at14, which are disposed adjacent the rear wall 11 within convenientlyaccessible position relative thereto, being displaced off center closerto the rear wall 11 than to the front wall 10. The fork arms 7 extendthrough the channels 14 and have lifting connection therewith forpicking up and dumping the container.

The top of the container 9 is initially open and may be closed by a pairof front and rear double lids 15 and 16, respectively. The lids 15 and16 preferably are hinged at or adjacent the upper edges of therespective front and rear walls and 11, as indicated generally at 17 and18, respectively. The hinge 18 is provided by a rod which extendsthrough suitable coacting straps which, in turn, are indicated at 19 onthe lid 16 and the back wall 11, as a means of hingedly connecting thelid to the body of the container for opening and closing movementsrelative thereto.

The back wall 11 may be provided with a reinforcing channel 20 extendingalong the upper edge thereof, if found desirable or needed. Thisreinforcing channel strengthens the wall at the hinge edge and providesa stiffened support for the hinge means and also for the back stopmeans, as herein described. In that event, the hinge straps 19 aremounted directly on the reinforcing bar 20 in the embodiment.

The back stop means comprises a pair of coiled torsion springs 21sleeved over the hinge rod 18 at one or more points along the lengththereof. It is preferred that such back stop means be provided at eachopposite end portion of the container, one side of which is shown inFIGS. 6 and 7. The torsion springs 21 having one end of the coil of eachanchored at 22 to the body of the container, as for example, by turningthe end 22 down behind the wall 11 or the reinforcing bar 20 thereon, asillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7. The opposite ends of the torsion springs21 are turned upward and joined together to form a U-shaped arm portion,generally indicated at 23. This arm portion 23 preferably is elongatedand has a roller 24 mounted on the connecting portion thereof forengagement with the face of the lid 16.

The arm 23 preferably is so formed that it stands up at an obtuse anglerelative to the horizontal plane to the top of the container or throughthe lid 16, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. Thus, the lid can be raisedagainst the back stop arm 23 and will be retained in its upright or openposition by gravity, inasmuch as it is moved past its dead centerposition through the axis of the hinge rod 13, and yet it will beprevented from falling over back of the container but will be held insuch upright position.

During normal filling, the container is sitting on the ground or othersuitable support, substantially as shown in FIG. 1. Normally, it isdesirable that the lids and 16 be closed, except when either of them maybe opened for an introduction of refuse into the container. However, itis common practice for one or both of the lids to be left open. If thelid 16 is left open, it will normally be in upstanding position, asdescribed and as illustrated in FIG. 1.

When the front end loader equipment is moved up to the container, thefork arms 7 are introduced through the channels 14, and the container isthen raised through the cycle of movements illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4.With the back lid 15 resting against the spring arm 23, this lid cannotswing back over the hinge rod 18 during the raising operation andthereby strike against the top portion of the cab 1 of the truck, butinstead, will remain in such open position during the initial portion ofthe cycle of movements. Of course, if the lid 16 should be closed duringthis initial pick-up operation, it will remain closed until thecontainer has been turned over sutfi 4 ciently to cause the container tobe turned over by gravity against the back up arm 23.

As the cycle of movements continues, the container 9 will be turned overin its full dumping position through the hopper 3, substantially asillustrated in FIG. 3, in back of the compaction head 4. Both lids 15and 16 are free to hang downward in the compaction body duringdischarge, as illustrated in FIG. 3, whereby to obtain full andeffective discharge of all of the contents from the container.

In a reversal of the cycle of movement of the container 9 to rotate thelatter out of the hopper 3, this involves a counterclockwise directionof swinging movement of the container from the position shown in FIG. 3to the position shown in FIG. 4. In the event that the materialdischarged into the body 2 back of the compaction head 4 should fill theavailable space to a height such as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG.4, this reverse swinging movement of the container would not cause thematerial to be dragged out through the hopper 3, because the lid 16 isfree to swing to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 4, due to theyielding action of the spring arm 23. Then, after the container islifted enough, so as to clear the hopper, the lid 16 will resume itsnormal position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Thus, an effective means is provided for limiting the normal openposition of the lid toward the front end loader mechanism, so as not tostrike the top of the cab of the truck during the dumping of thecontainer, and at the same time this means will not tend to drag thematerial back out of the body during the return of the container to itslowered position after discharge of its contents into the body. Thus, aproblem encountered heretofore with this type of equipment has beenetfectively solved.

The lid 15 at the front of the container may swing free relative to thebody of the container or similar or other spring means providedtherefor, normally tending to keep the lid closed.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in oneembodiment, it is recognized that variations and changes may be madetherein without departing from the invention as set forth in the claims.

We claim:

1. In a front end loader of the character described, the combinationwith a motor vehicle having a refuse body thereon and with a loader unitmounted on the vehicle, of a container including a body portion havingmeans in position for engagement by the loader unit for lifting thecontainer to an elevated position to dump the contents in to the body,said container having an open top with a lid for closing said open topand hinged to the body portion to swing open toward the loader unitabout an axis extending transversely of the loader unit and adjacent theside of the container toward the loader unit, and means at the side ofthe container toward the loader unit forming a yieldable abutment forlimiting the opening movement of the lid toward the loader unit tosubstantially an upright position when the container is initiallyengaged thereby, but allowing the lid to be opened further toward theloader unit against the force of said yieldable abutment.

2. In a front end loader of the character described, the combinationwith a motor vehicle having a refuse body thereon and with a loader unitmounted on the vehicle and including a pair of fork arms, of a containerincluding a body portion having front, back and opposite end walls, endconnections on the end walls in position for engagement by the fork armsadjacent the back wall for lifting the container to an elevated positionto dump the contents into the body, said container having an open top,double lids for closing the open top and each being hinged to the bodyportion adjacent the front and back walls, respectively, along axesextending transversely of the loader unit, and yieldable abutment meansconnected with the body portion adjacent the back wall for limiting theopening movement of the lid at the back wall toward the loader unit andto hold the lid normally in an upright position relative to the bodyportion when the container is an upright position, but allowing the lidto be opened further toward the loader unit against the force of saidyieldable abutment.

3. In a front end loader of the character described, the combinationwith a motor vehicle having a refuse body thereon and with a loader unitmounted on the vehicle and including a pair of fork arms, of a containerincluding a body portion having end connections in position forengagement by the fork arms for lifting the container to an elevatedposition to dump the contents into the body, said container having anopen top, double lids for closing the open top and hinged to the bodyportion adjacent the front and back walls thereof along axes extendingtransversely of the loader unit, and yieldable abutment means connectedwith the body portion for limiting the opening movement of the lid atthe back Wall toward 20 prising a body portion having an opening in thetop thereof, and means for supporting the container in an uprightposition on a surface, means on the body portion for detachableengagement and support of the container on the front end loader, a lidfor at least partially closing said top opening, means hinging the lidto the body portion for swinging movement about an axis and to theopposite side of an upright plane through said axis from the closedposition of the lid when the container is seated in the uprightposition, and yieldable abutment means on the opposite side of saidupright plane from the closed position of the lid in position forinitiating restraining action on the lid after movement from the closedposition there'- of past said plane and yieldably restraining the lidagainst further opening movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS170,697 Anderson Dec. 7, 1875 996,118 Nolte June 27, 1911 1,714,950Earharte .May 28, 1929 1,905,622 DAngelo Apr. 25, 1933 2,315,089Dohrmann Mar. 30, 1943 2,613,843 Suda Oct. 14, 1952 2,824,657 Beasley eta1. Feb. 25, 1958 2,951,602 Walden et al. Sept. 6, 1960 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No, 3, 138,, 275 June 231964 George R Dempster et ale It is hereby certified that error appearsin the abo-ye numbered patent requiring correction and that the; saidLetters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column Su -lines 5 and 23 before "anfljeach occmmvel icm insert in oSigned and sealed this 10th day of November 1964a;

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. "BRENNER Attcsting Ufficer Commissioner ofPatents

1. IN A FRONT END LOADER OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, THE COMBINATIONWITH A MOTOR VEHICLE HAVING A REFUSE BODY THEREON AND WITH A LOADER UNITMOUNTED ON THE VEHICLE, OF A CONTAINER INCLUDING A BODY PORTION HAVINGMEANS IN POSITION FOR ENGAGEMENT BY THE LOADER UNIT FOR LIFTING THECONTAINER TO AN ELEVATED POSITION TO DUMP THE CONTENTS INTO THE BODY,SAID CONTAINER HAVING AN OPEN TOP WITH A LID FOR CLOSING SAID OPEN TOPAND HINGED TO THE BODY PORTION TO SWING OPEN TOWARD THE LOADER UNITABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE LOADER UNIT AND ADJACENT THESIDE OF THE CONTAINER TOWARD THE LOADER UNIT, AND MEANS AT THE SIDE OFTHE CONTAINER TOWARD THE LOADER UNIT FORMING A YIELDABLE ABUTMENT FORLIMITING THE OPENING MOVEMENT OF THE LID TOWARD THE LOADER UNIT TOSUBSTANTIALLY AN UPRIGHT POSITION WHEN THE CONTAINER IS INITIALLYENGAGED THEREBY, BUT ALLOWING THE LID TO BE OPENED FURTHER TOWARD THELOADER UNIT AGAINST THE FORCE OF SAID YIELDABLE ABUTMENT.